Former high sheriff fined $1,200, prohibited from driving for one year

Former high sheriff of Newfoundland and Labrador, John Patrick McDonald, has been fined $1,200, and was ordered to pay a victim fine surcharge in provincial court in St. John's this morning.

He is also prohibited from driving for one year.

McDonald wasn't in court for his sentencing this morning. He was represented by his lawyer Randy Piercey.

Last week, Judge Lois Skanes found McDonald guilty of operating a vehicle with a blood-alcohol level greater than 80 mg in 100 ml of blood. A charge of operating a vehicle while impaired was stayed.

In her decision, Skanes rejected McDonald’s testimony of how much alcohol he consumed in the night of his arrest — he was arrested in the early morning of Jan. 4 — concluding that it was not consistent with the level of alcohol found in his blood when police gave him a breathalyzer test.

Skanes also rejected the testimony of Dr. John Weber, an associate professor at Memorial University’s School of Pharmacy, who testified in January that McDonald most likely — taking into consideration factors like his age, weight and sex — had a blood-alcohol level between 40 and 70 mg in 100 ml of blood.

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Another Taxpayer

March 11, 2013 - 15:22

"Many people have gone to jail for less."
Really? Everyone goes to jail for first time drunk driving offences? That's news - When did that happen? Is that why we see news stories of x-teenth convictions here in the province occasionally?